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Mother of Six

Sons Tells How

Sally A. Elder

A half million women in their 30' s
and 40's enrolled in colleges across
the country in 1975.
I was one of them.
I am the mother of six sons.
At age 35 I enrolled at College of
the Canyons fulltime. My goal was
to work towards an associate degree
in humanities. This was the first
step of a long-range educational
plan that I'd been considering for
some time.

Editor's Note: Mrs. Elder is
graduating with honors on
Thursday, June 16. Her grade
point average for two years is
3.77 of a possible 4.0.

I worried a lot before making my
final decision to return to school.
Did I really have the intellectual
capacity to attempt college full-time Mrs. Sally Elder, honor graduate next week, poses with her six sons and the indispensable Suzuki motorbike that figures
after an 18 year educational lapse? in story she relates elsewhere on this page about the problems and pleasures she encountered in maintaining her large
I had taken numerous college family and attending COC for the last two years. The sons are: Kenneth, 19; Craig, 18; Kevin, 16; Paul, 14; Chris, 10 and
7
,. classes, but only in areas of my oum David, • (Photo by Jim Hernan)
creative interests. I had never felt
secure enough to attempt college on much I'd changed into an untradi- formats but also limits its quality.
a full-time basis. tional woman-student-wife-mother Its main advantage now is the
At the time I started at COC, my person until last Fa11. Stereo Speaker availability of pre-recorded tapes
sons' ages ranged from 17 to 5. One morning I went out to start and its low price. But very few
Would I be able to coordinate the car. The "***+++***" thing 8-track recorders are available.
everyone's homework and school wouldn't start. I had to be at the Rapidly overtaking the 8-track in
schedules, including my own - with college in five minutes for an Which Tape Is popularity is the cassette. In the
evening homework for all of us? appointment with counselor Joan cassette the tape is stored on two
I am the wife of a successful Jacobs. reels much like the large open-reel
nuclear environmental engineer. I ran into the house and found our Best For You? machines but is narrower and runs
f Would I be able to handle our active 15-year-old Kevin, proud owner of a at a slower speed than 8-tracks,
social obligations and still compete SuzukC 125.-lt took him two years allowing more program to fit in a
By Jim James
with younger students for high to talk me into that bike. I am smaller area.
academic achievement? terrified of motorcycles, but I was Eight-track, open-reel, cassette, The increased precision of the
I didn't know all the answers. I desperate! elcassette - what are these strange cassette gives it greater quality
knew I had the desire to learn. I "I need your motorcycle Kev," I names? than 8-track, and has led to the
would never know the answers if I said. They are all different methods of development of high quality re-
didn't try. "What," Kevin said. "You don't recording and playing music on corders which with good tape can
I have never regretted my deci- know how to drive my motorcycle. tape, and choosing among them can almost match the sound of the
sion. It's been an exciting adven- "Sure. I can do it," I said. original master record. Quality and
be confusing. Each has its ad-
ture, not only for me, but for my "You'll dump it Mom! You'll dump vantages and disadvantages along size have made the cassette the No.
entire family. my motorcycle .. " with a definite following. 1 home/auto tape format.
I've shared my Shakespearian "Come on, Kev---". While cassettes are good, open
class and movies with our youngest "Geeez," he moaned. "If you need reel is the standard all others are
boys. We all attended COC's a ride that bad I'll take you." based on. Operating at higher
production of A Midsummer Night's Kevin grabbed his helmet and speeds and using larger tape, it is
Dream in May. keys; razzed up his motor and told possible to make recordings that are
We made my geology field trip to me where to place my feet. We took undistinguishable from the original.
Death Valley last October a family off at what seemed to be an instant Almost all records originally are
outing. It was an opportunity for 60 miles an hour. recorded on open-reel machines.
our family to explore the natural Now, here's this woman on the The tape is kept on large, open reels
laboratory of earth sciences. shady side of 30, d.ressed in a fancy (usually 7 inches in diameter) and
Our Saugus high school journa- pink and white pants suit, a strap must be threaded by hand around
lism student, Craig, went with me purse flung over her shoulder, the mechanism. The complexity,
on the Business Advertising class high-heeled sandles propped up on large size and price keep the open
tour of the Los Angeles Times in the medal side-pedals, long blond reel limited to those to whom
March. He earned extra credit in his hair, once curled, streaming out quality is formost. Open reels, of
journalism class for the report of behind her, eyebrows pasted to the course, can't be used in autos.
that trip. top of her forehead in utter terror, A new entry on the market is the
COC has been an educational tool shouting --- el cassette. This has a cartridge the
for our entire family. To me, it's "Kevin - Kevin - the railroad size of an 8-track, the reel system of
been a way of life for two years. tracks - you almost lost me!" a cassette and the tape size, speed
I know that college life has I caught the reflection of myself in Jim James and precision of an open reel. It
changed my life style. I'm certainly a car window as the driver slowed appears to possess the best features
more organized. I am a night person down to glance again. The 8-track cartridge was the of all the other modes (except price,
who has become a day person. I rise It must have seemed strange to first popular cartridge format. It which is in the expensive cassette,
with the sun. I study with my sons. see an older woman on the back-end consists of a tape with eight tracks cheap open-reel range) but is too
I have the boys organized like an of a shirtless kid's motorcycle - (four channels of stereo, one side to new to be fully assessed yet. One
army to help with housework and praying! a track) in a continuous loop driven drawback is the lack of elcassette
cooking chores. I watch little televi- That was the day I decided there by a roller pressed against the tape. players for cars. But if this new
sion. I intellectualize more with my was nothing I couldn't do, including The simplicity of the mechanism mode catches on, this will change, of
husband. But I never realized how graduating from COC. makes it the most inexpensive of the course.